The invention relates to a device for the pre-programmable infusion of liquids into the human or animal body, particularly for the administration of insulin in diabetes therapy, consisting of a microdosing unit for the liquid as well as a control device as a program transmitter for the microdosing unit. Thereby, the microdosing unit for the liquid can be implanted in the body together with or separate from the control device or can be carried externally on the body surface.
In diabetes therapy, it is desirable to continuously infuse insulin into the body of the patient at varying installments, because the need of the diabetic for insulin during the day is subject to great fluctuations, determined, for example, by the rhythm of the meals. It has been shown that--as long as no infusion devices that regulate themselves automatically by means of glucose sensors are available--the delivery of insulin should best ensue according to a daily profile that can be individually adjusted and pre-programmed for the patient. An apparatus for the supply of liquids to the human or animal body is known in which an electric program transmitter is present, which can be pre-programmed to a program extending over prescribed time steps by an operator with manually adjustable control signals of varying magnitudes. Thereby, the control signals are adjusted in a practical manner by means of a crosspoint distributor. Although such an apparatus is specifically conceived as a "bedside apparatus", nonetheless the advantages of such an apparatus control can also be transferred in principle to a microdosing unit which can be carried on the body or implanted in the body, respectively.
However, in a device with a microdosing unit which is carried on or in the body of the patient, it must be guaranteed that the pre-programming of the infusion device to the desired daily profile can be carried out by the physician in a simple and clear manner. In the treatment of diabetics, for example, cases occur in which an optimum daily infusion profile for an infusion unit to be implanted subsequently or also for a traditional injection therapy to be carried out later is to be ascertained during a longer examination period, during which the patient is located in the hospital under the supervision of the physician. Thereby, the patient should be able to move about freely all day and all night during the administration of the insulin. For such applications, the devices known from prior art are not optimally suited.